'It’s Been A Long Haul': Developer Richard Levy On Favorable Court Ruling For His West Heating Plant Project

The redevelopment of the West Heating Plant in Georgetown has faced a series of obstacles preventing it from breaking ground, but with a court ruling this week, it has cleared one of the final hurdles.

The D.C. Court of Appeals issued a ruling Thursday siding with the D.C. Mayor's Agent for Historic Preservation's approval of the project and rejecting the objections of the D.C. Preservation League, the Washington Business Journal first reported. 

The development, a partnership between The Levy Group, Georgetown Co. and Four Seasons Residences, is planned to include around 70 condos and a public park at the intersection of 29th and K streets NW.

Levy Group CEO Richard Levy tells Bisnow he sees the ruling as a key step in the long process of moving the project forward. 

"It’s now over seven years since we purchased it, not counting the years before we purchased it when we were doing research on it, so it’s been a long haul,” Levy said. “It’s nice after all that time to have such a clear and substantiated opinion.”

He said the ruling allows the team to begin some demolition and remediation work in the coming months. It comes after the Zoning Commission in September issued its written approval of the project, public records show.

The final steps before full construction include one last review from the Commission of Fine Arts, which approved an earlier version of the project, and then Levy must obtain financing and building permits.

"We're appreciative of the opinion and cautious because it's been a long haul, and we'll continue to be cautious until we have a building permit," Levy said. 

Levy said he is confident in his ability to obtain financing because of the quality of the David Adjaye design, the Four Seasons brand and the Georgetown location. 

"There is nothing like it in the Washington market from our perspective," Levy said.